“I’m confident that the Supreme Court will not take what would be an unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress.”

Wrong, Mr. President. There’s nothing unprecedented about the high court overturning laws. He clearly misspoke. But federal Judge Jerry Smith, a Republican appointee, decided to do a little show-boating: He demanded a letter from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder “at least three pages, single-spaced,” explaining his views on whether federal judges have the authority to strike down federal laws. And Holder was told to submit the letter by Thursday at noon.

“Smith's gratuitous order is little more than a thinly concealed insult to the president, the Justice Department and the administration. It constitutes a shocking departure from norms of judicial behavior. While such partisan bickering might be expected from the minority leader of the Senate or from commentators like Rush Limbaugh, who drew upon Obama's remarks in yet another entry in their relentless attacks on the president, it is hardly to be expected of a federal judge.”

Holder nevertheless complied. His letter came in on time, at 2 1/2 pages. No word on whether any further punishment would be forthcoming. In the letter, Holder wrote, “The power of the courts to review the constitutionality of legislation is beyond dispute.”

But Holder added, “While duly recognizing the courts' authority to engage in judicial review, the Executive Branch has often urged courts to respect the legislative judgments of Congress.”

Is that the equivalent of shooting a spitball at the back of the teacher’s head? And will Smith be keeping Holder after class?

It’s great that we have judges who value facts. Now where’s the federal judge who will take to task all those Republican operatives who spin lies about Obama’s birth certificate?